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Re: [Phys-l] H. Sapiens



This is a case similar to the outbreak of small pox** where an autocratic regime is necessary.




**" By March 22, medical authorities realized that Musa had died of smallpox. The government's reaction was swift. Martial law was declared. Measures included blockades of villages and neighborhoods, roadblocks, prohibition of public meetings, closure of borders and prohibition of all non-essential travel. Hotels were requisitioned for quarantines in which 10,000 people who may have been in contact with the virus were held under guard by the army. The authorities undertook a massive revaccination of the population, helped by the World Health Organization, '...almost the entire Yugoslavian population of 18 million people was vaccinated.'. World's leading experts on smallpox were flown in to help the effort, including Donald Henderson and Don Francis.
Within two weeks, almost the entire population had been revaccinated. By mid-May the spread of the disease was stopped and the country returned to normal life. During the epidemic, 175 people contracted smallpox and 35 of them died.
[edit]Legacy

The Yugoslav government received international praise for the successful containment of the epidemic, which was also one of the finest hours for Donald Henderson and the WHO, as well as one of crucial steps in the eradication of smallpox.
In 1982, Serbian director Goran Marković made the film Variola Vera about a hospital under quarantine during the epidemic. In 2002, the BBC screened a television drama called Smallpox 2002, which was partly inspired by the events."

1972 outbreak of smallpox in Yugoslavia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


bc thankful Katrina wasn't smallpox. Well...., only in empathy, he's been vaccinated.


p.s. if the recent extreme weather is not just a blip, I think a number of governments will assume dictatorial powers.



On 2010, Sep 16, , at 19:18, LaMontagne, Bob wrote:

Who enforces the "policy"?

Bob at PC

________________________________________
From: phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu [phys-l-bounces@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu] On Behalf Of Rauber, Joel [Joel.Rauber@SDSTATE.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, September 16, 2010 1:32 PM
To: Forum for Physics Educators
Subject: Re: [Phys-l] H. Sapiens

It scares me as well. IMHO, population policy (and every country has a policy even if it is simply laissez faire) should be based on the answer to two questions (1) what is the carrying capacity of the planet (2) and what is the carrying capacity of the planet consistent with life-styles that lend themselves a reasonable level of human dignity.

I assume the answer to (2) is a smaller number than the answer to (1)


_________________________

Joel Rauber, Ph.D
Professor and Head of Physics